Amicus meus Amo
by Vex Matthewson
Summary: The real reason Sarah was jealous of Gwen was because her best friend had a crush on Gwen and Sarah had a crush on her best friend. For several years now Sarah had been living with the knowledge that she was in love with Peter Parker and she also lived with the knowledge that he didn't feel the same way. Didn't take a genius to see the way he looked at Gwen. Peter/OC
1. Frame

**Set in **_**The Amazing Spider-man**_** movie verse.**

**So I know I have several other stories waiting but this has caught my attention, unsurprisingly seeing as the sequel's just come out (which is amazing by the way if you haven't seen it...see what I did there?).**

**Anyway I like to keep canon to the story lines so don't expect the whole movie to have changed completely. I like to imagine how my characters would interact within the worlds we see and watch, hence why I don't stray from the plot. However I hope there are enough changes to keep you interested.**

**Hope you enjoy it and feel free to read and review but please no flames.**

**Vex**

* * *

"Watch it!" Kelly, the head cheerleader, sneered as she shoved past the other girl. The girl dropped her large pile of books and heard the collective giggle of the cheerleading squad. "Nice going Frames."

The group carried forward and Sarah was left to pick up her books alone.

"The joys of high school." She muttered under her breath. _Though you think they would have come up with a more imaginative name than Frames by now, _she thought.

Once finally all gathered, Sarah heaved her shoulder bag back over her body and continued along the corridor, clutching the pile of books to her chest. She could see where they had made impact with the floor, the bent corners already forming.

"How are you not hunchback by now?" A familiar voice asked. She turned her head to see her best friend, Peter Parker, matching her pace and walking along side her.

"It's called stubbornness and refusing to let the books win." She answered, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Well the least I can do is offer you a helping hand." Peter held out his arms to carry half of the books in Sarah's stack.

"Thanks." Sarah smiled at him, handing over his pile. Peter smiled back and Sarah felt her insides tighten.

"Hey where's your skateboard?" Peter asked, noticing she wasn't carrying hers around like he was carrying his.

"My mom took it off me until I finish that paper she wants doing." Sarah shrugged, her pony tail bouncing as she walked.

"I don't know why you don't just quit that internship already, you hate doing it." Peter told her using his free hand to manoeuvre his slipping backpack up his shoulder.

"Because if I do then my parents would literally disown me." Sarah reminded him. Peter sighed but before he could say anything more, an attractive brunette intercepted the pair as they walked.

"Hey, it's Peter, right?" The girl asked, Sarah couldn't remember her name.

Peter did an almost double step as he angled his body towards her. Sarah stood just behind him, awkwardly looking anywhere but the two. Peter shyly nodded his head going into his 'outside world' mode as Sarah called it.

"I really like your photos." The girl continued.

"Oh, thanks." Peter mumbled. Sarah noticed as his eyes dipped, looking fully at the girl. Jealously rippled in her thoughts but she pushed it to the side.

"Hey listen, are you busy Friday night?" Peter shook his head at the question, almost not believing what he heard. "Cool, can you take pictures of my boyfriend's car? I just really wanted to give him a good one for his birthday."

"That's really nice of you, that's such a nice thought." Peter commented. The sarcasm Sarah new all too well, was shining in his words. "I'm gonna get the old, old schedule."

Peter walked away from the girl and Sarah followed, biting her lip until they were out of ear shot.

"You so thought you were being asked –"

"Shut up Sarah." Peter interrupted, hanging his head in embarrassment. Sarah tried her best to hide her smile.

"Parker!" The pair stopped to look at Mr Kurt as he stood in front of the pair. "Make sure that skateboard stays off the floor today."

"Yes sir." Peter then dramatically held his skateboard over his head as the two walked away. "Like this?"

"That's it." Kurt shouted back before entering his classroom.

"One of these days that smart mouth is gonna get you into more trouble than you can handle." Sarah warned him though she couldn't keep the smirk off her face.

"But today's not that day." Peter smirked at her before glancing over his shoulder. After seeing the coast was clear, he placed his skateboard on the floor and rode it down the corridor.

"Peter!" Sarah called after him but he only sent a cheeky smirk over his shoulder. She sighed but followed him, knowing he would be heading to her locker.

She finally caught up to him as he awkwardly stood watching two people eating each other's faces, blocking her locker.

"These guys again." Sarah sighed.

Sarah made a move to open her locker but the pair was having none of it. She looked at Peter for help which he gladly gave. He held the door open as wide as he could to allow her enough space to put her books back while taking out the necessary ones.

As soon as Peter let go, the locker was slammed shut by the kissing pair, just missing Sarah's fingers.

"Come on, let's go get lunch." The formerly large pile of books in her hand was now reduced to two, with Peter carrying none.

As the two entered the quad, Sarah had a smile on her face from a joke Peter was telling her. She wasn't looking and ended up walking straight into him.

"Pete what are—" She stopped mid sentence as she followed his line of sight, there sat on the table was Gwen Stacy.

Sarah was jealous of the girl to say the least.

She was beautiful, intelligent overall contributing towards a great personality. Sarah couldn't find herself hating her though because Gwen was always so nice to her when they talked.

The real reason though was because her best friend had a crush on Gwen and Sarah had a crush on her best friend.

For several years now Sarah had been living with the knowledge that she was in love with Peter Parker and she also lived with the knowledge that he didn't feel the same way. Didn't take a genius to see the way he looked at Gwen.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Sarah suggested.

"Yeah because I'm so charismatic and charming." Peter counted.

"I think you are." Sarah sighed but Peter didn't hear her. Instead he focused on taking a picture of Gwen. "Because that's less creepy."

Peter then turned the camera on her. Sarah pushed it away but found herself smiling along with Peter. The noise from the crowd then hit them and they turned to see a mess of people chanting while some poor sod was bullied.

"Oh no." Sarah followed Peter as the two made their way through the crowd.

Unsurprisingly at the center was Flash, terrorising a poor student by forcing his face into the pile of food.

"Eat your vegetables Gordon!" Flash demanded, the crowd chanting "EAT IT!" accompanied him in the back ground. Upon spotting Peter, Flash began to demand pictures. "Hey Parker, come on, get a picture of this!

"Put him down man." Peter said, signalling to the ground. "Don't eat it, don't eat that Gordon."

"Take a picture Parker." Flash repeated.

"Put him down Flash." Peter held his ground.

"Take a picture."

"Put him down," Peter paused and Sarah knew what was coming next.

"Eugene!" Peter shouted loudly for all to hear.

The crowd went quiet and Sarah watched as Flash threw Gordon to the floor. She saw the intent in his eyes as he made a bee line for Peter.

"Peter watch out." Sarah shoved her friend out of the way and was rewarded with a punch to the face. Along with her books, she went flying to the floor. A pounding headache resonated from where she had been hit.

Seeing Sarah being hit by Flash caused Peter to try and tackle the school bully to the ground but was met by a punch to the stomach, sending him to the floor as well.

"Come on! Get up Parker!" Flash shouted, kicking Peter in the stomach. "Get up, come on!"

"I'm still not taking the picture." Peter wheezed. Sarah tried to stand up but so far had only managed to regain enough balance to rest on all fours.

"Stay down Parker." Flash ordered. Peter wasn't having it though and went for round two when Gwen stepped in.

"Flash." She stated to get his attention. The large teenager turned on the blonde. "Flash, are we still on for after school today? My house, 3:30? I hope you've been doing your homework as last time I was very disappointed in you. Flash, how about we go to class? How about it?"

"Whatever." Flash muttered before walking away, the crowd dispersing with him.

Sarah looked up to Gwen to see her give them one fleeting look before she walked to class herself.

She then turned to look at Peter, ignoring people kicking her books, and saw him checking over his camera.

"What did I tell you about that mouth?" Sarah teased. Peter looked at her then and could see the bruises already beginning to form around her eye.

"Are you okay?" He asked, leaning a little forward to get a better look at the damage.

"I've had worse." She shrugged, realising her vision had turned blurry. "Dammit."

"What?" Peter looked alarmed as he held a hand out to her.

"I've lost a contact." She stated. She took his hand and with his help, lifted herself up. Quickly she took her other contact out and reached into her bag. When her hand returned in it was a pair of thick black glasses with square frames, placing them on her face she once again saw the world. "Ah now I can see."

"Why didn't you let me take the punch?" Peter asked, handing over her books which were scattered on the floor.

_Because I'm secretly in love with you and don't want to see you get hurt._

"It was my turn to get a black eye." She shrugged, the two began to walk to class. "Besides your uncle already suspects something's going on at school where as my parent's won't even realise something's changed."

"You could have at least punched him back." Peter said angrily. "What's the point in all that martial arts if you never use it?"

"First rule of martial arts is-"

"It can only be used in self defence." The pair said together, Peter having heard it enough times before. "But it would have been self defence?"

"Yes it would have been if I was the intended target. Anyway we've got lessons to go to, see you later." Sarah smiled at Peter as the two branched off to go to their separate classes.

* * *

"I'm making spaghetti and meat balls tonight." Aunt May declared as Peter and Sarah walked into the kitchen. Peter went straight for the fridge while Sarah leant on the opposite cabinet.

"You're serious? Spaghetti..." Peter grumbled, throwing an apple juice in Sarah's direction. She used the cold bottle to soothe some of the pain her eye was causing her, lifting her frames on to her head.

"Since when don't you like spaghetti and meat balls, huh?" Aunt May asked, she then turned to Sarah. "You're welcome to stay as always dear."

"Thanks but I've got to get-"

"Oh my God, what happened to your face?" Aunt May cut in and asked. She stepped towards the girl but Sarah shrugged her off.

"I'm alright, I fell skating." Sarah suggested. Peter caught her eye as he sat on the counter top next to her, she could see the guilty look in his eyes.

Suddenly the blurry outline of Ben entered and dumped a dusty cardboard box on the table.

"Ben Parker, don't you even think about leaving that filthy box in my kitchen." May warned him.

"These are my bowling trophies." Ben was offended; Peter and Sarah shared a smirk.

"Oh, then by all means, please, leave that filthy box in my kitchen." Sarah couldn't help but laugh at the sarcasm from May.

"What happened to you?" Ben asked, turning his attention to the teenage girl.

"She fell." Peter answered.

"Why you kids ride those things I'll never know." May muttered to herself as she carried on preparing dinner.

"Because it's stupid and dangerous." Ben answered her rhetorical question. "Remember when we were stupid and dangerous?"

"No."

"Trust me, we were." Sarah shared a smile with the old man, having grown to treat him like an uncle herself after all these years.

"Good to know. Hey, where's the flood?" Peter asked, making Sarah realise Ben was trailing water through the house, his trousers rolled up to his knees.

"Follow me, I'll show you." Ben started to walk away.

"You serious?" Peter hoped down from the countertop.

"Yes." Ben nodded his head before heading down to the basement. Peter went to follow but turned back to Sarah.

"Keep this on it." Peter told her, lifting her hand with the cold bottle of apple juice to her eye. "It'll help."

Sarah nodded her head in thanks, not wanting her voice to betray her. Though the image was blurry, Peter had been that close to her face that she could practically make out the definition of his eyes.

Peter left the room and Aunt May looked at Sarah with a knowing smile. Sarah didn't see it though as her glasses still rested on her head.

"So how is the internship going?" May asked as she began to cook the meatballs.

"Same as usual, boring as ever." Sarah sighed, taking the juice off her face and putting her glasses back in place.

"I don't know why you continue to stay there." May told her. "There's just something about Oscorp I do not trust."

"You and me both." Sarah told her as Ben approached the room. "Do you need some help?"

"Nah I think Peter's got it covered." He then looked to see Aunt May facing the other way before throwing a raw steak at Sarah. He pointed to his eye and with a wink Sarah knew that he had seen through the lie, typical.

She had a small smile on her face as she placed the steak on her eye, moving her glasses back up to her forehead.

"Ben, have you called the plumber?" May asked.

"Plumbers don't fix things—"

The two started to argue like the old married couple they were, brining a smile to Sarah's lips.

They stopped completely when they saw Peter.

From where she stood Sarah could see Peter's hunched over figure, staring intently at something in his hands. Upon putting her glasses back on, she saw he had a briefcase in his hands and tears in his eyes.

"I forgot all about that thing." Ben said after sharing a look with May. "It was your dad's. Asked us to keep it safe for him." Ben gave out a small laugh as he sat down. Both May and Sarah took steps forward. "He saw it in that shop over on 9th avenue. He was 19, what does a 19 year old want with a briefcase?"

Sarah could hear the attempt at the light hearted tone in Ben's voice but she couldn't feel it due to the heartbreaking look on Peter's face.

"And guess who sold it to him?" Ben continued, Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Your mother, that's how they met."

"He asked you to keep this safe, why?" Peter started to ask. "Why? There's nothing in here, have you looked in here? There's nothing here."

"Your father was a very secretive man Peter." Aunt May stated.

"Yeah I know." Peter gave out a laugh without humour. He rummaged in the case to pull out an old picture from an article. "Who's that?"

Ben studied the picture Peter placed in front of him before answering.

"Some guy who worked with your dad I guess." Ben shrugged. Peter moved the picture to May. She merely had a look of bewilderment.

The picture then passed to Sarah, she could see the hopeful look in his eyes. She took a moment to look before placing the face.

"That's Dr Curt Connors." Sarah answered in a husky voice, she coughed afterwards.

"Who?"

"He works in genetics, the lab below where I work. I sometimes see him."

Silence followed before May sprang forward.

"Just take this off the table." She wiped underneath the briefcase forcing Peter to lift it off. "We're going to eat here. And wash your hands, now."

Peter nodded his head, understanding the conversation was over.

"I better get going." Sarah told them, she gave a thankful nod to May and Ben before walking to the door, Peter at her heel. She bent down and picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. She then threw the raw steak back at Peter. "Thank your Uncle for me when May can't hear."

Peter nodded at her words though she knew he wasn't listening. Sarah stepped towards him and placed her arms around his midsection, trying as best as she could to give him a hug. Peter awkwardly wrapped his arms around her despite his hands being full, Sarah knew his mind was elsewhere but she enjoyed it all the same. The pair pulled away, Sarah taking the opportunity to pick up her books.

"My phone will be on all night, call me if you need me." She told him. Peter just nodded his head, muttering a 'will do'.

"See you later Peter." Sarah gave him one last sad smile before leaving the house.


	2. Love of science

"Can you get me into Oscorp?"

"What?"

"Can you get me into Oscorp?"

"Why on earth do you want to come to Oscorp?" Sarah asked Peter. She lent further over her desk, hoping no one nearby had heard her conversation.

She was sat in her white lab coat, spending her Saturday sorting through the paperwork needed for her father's next experiment. When she saw her phone light up with Peter's name she was ecstatic, looking for a reason to be distracted. She had not been expecting his request.

"Because I love science." Peter answered.

"You love science?" Sarah repeated in a dead pan tone.

"Yeah I love science."

"Peter."

"Okay, I want to see Dr Connors." Peter admitted.

"Pete, are you sure?"

"Look he knew my father and maybe why he left. I just want some answers Sarah." Though she couldn't see him, Sarah could imagine his face and it made it even harder to refuse him.

"This is because of the briefcase isn't it?"

"Sarah please."

Sarah closed her eyes and gave out a sigh. She could hardly refuse him normally but the tone in his voice and the picture of his face in her mind, made it impossible.

"Fine." Sarah gave in. "Be outside the tower at 4 o'clock today."

"Thank you."

"Don't be late." She warned him before hanging up the phone. She looked at the picture frame on her desk making her smile involuntarily. It was a picture of her and Peter in Time Square on New Year's Eve, her favourite picture.

Her eyes returned to the work in front of her and she knew she had a lot to do if she was going to be able to have her break at four to let Peter in. And so she got to work.

* * *

"Right here is your pass; I've said you're a prospectus intern." Sarah handed him the badge she had got from reception earlier. She then noticed something different about him. "Why are you wearing glasses? What happened to your contacts?"

"I lost them." Peter shrugged. Sarah didn't buy it but she let it slide.

"When we go in you'll need to put your bags and stuff in the cloak room." Sarah explained further. She thankfully was wearing her spare contacts and did not have to have another day in her chunky frames.

Peter nodded his head and followed her inside. She led the way to the cloak room retrieving her lab coat which she had left there, not wanting to wear it outside. The guard hadn't seemed to have minded though she didn't think he was really bothered about anything to do with his job.

Once ready, she took Peter up the escalator, directly in view of the massive computer screen welcoming guests. Sarah looked over to see the awe on Peter's face.

"Mr Osborn sure does know how to make people speechless." Sarah commented.

"Welcome to Oscorp." A computer voice blurted out. "Born from the mind of our founder, Norman Osborn, our scientific minds are pushing the boundaries of defence, biomedical and chemical technologies. The future lies within."

The pair reached the end of the escalator. Peter turned to look at Sarah once they were both off.

"Well my floor is the one above this but seeing as you want to see Connors..." Sarah trailed off as she made her way towards the right laboratory. She had already thought up the reason for her being there with Peter though if it would work was a different matter.

They walked into the lab to see a group of fresh faced teenagers huddled around the figure of Gwen Stacy, Sarah had forgotten she was head intern for Connors. She looked at Peter from the corner of her eye and saw he had spotted Gwen also. She pushed the annoyance to the side and instead motioned for Peter to stand with her just to the side of the group.

"Welcome, my name is Dr. Curtis Connors." The very man announced as he spoke to the interns. "And yes, in case you're wondering, I'm a southpaw. I'm not a cripple. I'm a scientist and I'm the world's foremost authority on Herpetology, that's reptiles for those of you that don't know. But like the Parkinson's patient who watches on in horror as her body slowly betrays her, or the man with Macular Degenerations, whose eyes grow dimmer each day, I long to fix myself. I want to create a world without weakness. Anyone care to venture a guess just how?" A hand shot up. "Yes?"

"Stem cells?" The young man guessed.

"Promising but the solution I'm thinking of is more radical." Connors told them. "No one?"

"Cross-species genetics." Sarah turned to look at Peter, as did the rest of the group. She then looked to the floor with a small smile on her face. Of course he would know the answer. "Person gets Parkinson's when the brain cells that produce dopamine start to disappear. But a zebra fish has the ability to regenerate cells on command. If you can somehow give this ability to the woman you're talking about, that's...that...She's curing herself."

"You just have to look pass the gills on her neck." An intern joked but was quickly silenced by Connors.

"And you are?" The Doctor questioned.

"He's a prospectus intern for the chemical weapons department Dr Connors." Sarah stepped in seeing Peter falter. "I was just showing him some of the other labs and what other work is going on at Oscorp."

"Well maybe your intern is more suited to my department Miss Frame." Connors remarked.

"Maybe he is." Sarah shot a quick glance to Peter out of the corner of her eye.

Connors nodded before reaching for his cell. With a quick glance he knew exactly what the message read.

"I'm afraid duty calls; I'll leave you in more than capable hands of Miss Stacy." Connors said as he made to leave. "Nice meeting you all."

"If you'd like to gather round." Gwen summoned the interns around a projection that started but Sarah was more focused on going after Peter.

"Pete." Sarah did a little run to keep up with him and he turned around when he heard her call his name. "You can't just go running off after the guy."

"But Sarah I need-"

"Since when did you want to be an intern?" Gwen asked as she came over and joined the pair.

"Since this morning." Sarah replied, Gwen laughed thinking she was joking. Sarah simply smiled with her.

"Well if you want we're going to the bio-reactor room, you're welcome to join us?" Gwen suggested. Sarah looked at Peter and knew he wasn't going to get another chance to talk to Connors.

"Yeah we'd love to." Sarah walked with Gwen back to the interns, assuming Peter was still with them.

As the tour continued Sarah turned to tell Peter something but when she looked she couldn't find him.

"Dammit Peter." She huffed, walking back in the direction they had walked trying to find her best friend.

She carried on walking, hoping Peter hadn't gone off the trail this far but her instinct was right. She found him coming out of the biocable room, the classified and hazard suit required, biocable room. She couldn't believe he had gone against the trust she put in him to not do anything stupid.

She marched straight up to him and held out her hand.

"I can explain." Peter gave off a little laugh, hoping Sarah wasn't as mad as she looked.

"Give me the badge." Sarah demanded. Peter sighed before handing the badge over. "I'm sure you can work out how to get out from here."

Sarah then turned away in anger. She quickly looked back though when she heard Peter gasp in pain. She wanted to check he was okay but then remembering she was annoyed at him, she turned her back on him again and walked away.

* * *

_Sarah working late tonight. _

_Mom and Dad_

"Surprise, surprise." Sarah muttered under her breath, ripping the note from the fridge.

She quickly got to work at cooking some spaghetti after having the craving for some when May offered them yesterday.

She stood ideally stirring the pasta, looking at her reflection in the stainless steel extractor fan over the cooker. Her bruise had faded pretty well from yesterday, it was simply a slightly discoloured patch of skin. She waged that by Monday it would be gone completely, steaks really do work a treat she thought. Sarah leaned in closed, angling her face so the injured side was closest to the reflection when her cell rang.

"Hello." She kept the phone pressed to her ear by her shoulder as one hand stirred the sauce while the other stirred the spaghetti.

"Hi Sarah." The familiar voice of Ben said on the other end.

"Hi Ben, what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well actually May and I are wondering if you've seen Peter. He isn't home yet and we're getting a little worried." Suddenly her dinner become a lot less important.

Sarah turned away from the cooking food, holding the phone to her ear by her hand.

"Sorry Ben I haven't seen him since about half four." Sarah said.

"Okay well if he comes to you, could you get him to call us please." Ben instructed.

"Sure, but it'll be after I've told him off myself." Sarah heard Ben give a little laugh on the end of phone but it was strained. "I'm sure he's fine Ben."

"So am I but it would be nice to know." Ben told her before wishing her goodnight and hanging up the phone.

Sarah immediately called Peter and it went straight through to voicemail. So she tried again in five minutes and five minutes after that, each time it went to voicemail. She decided to leave it for a while and have her dinner but as soon as she was finished she called Peter again.

"Hello?" Peter sounded completely zoned out, causing Sarah's relief of him picking up to be replaced with more worry.

"Peter where are you?" Sarah demanded to know.

"Home, why?"

"Your uncle called asking where you were...where have you been?"

"Fell asleep on the subway and missed my stop."

"Right...are you feeling okay?" Sarah could hear him slur his words.

"I'm fine, better than fine just really hungry." She heard him shove something in his mouth but it didn't stop him from talking. "Aunt May's meatloaf is the best."

"Pete you always complain about her meatloaf." Sarah reminded him.

"Then I was wrong." Peter declared before shoving another piece down his mouth. Sarah found herself giving off a small laugh.

"Whatever, as long as you're safe. I'll speak to you later."

"Goodnight." Peter then hung the phone up on her.

Sarah was a little hurt, she was actually still a little mad from earlier, especially seeing as Peter hadn't apologised yet. She sighed, being a 17 year old girl was harder than most people realised.

* * *

Sarah loved the feeling of the wind on her face as she rode her skateboard down to the Parker's. All too soon she was stood by the house, picking up her skateboard. What she was surprised to see was Peter sat on the roof outside his window working over something.

"Hey Pete." She called up and caught his attention. "What are you doing up there?"

"Studying." Peter answered.

"Okay." Sarah was a little confused by his behaviour but decided to persevere. "Well I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie. Maybe go down to that building site and practice a few tricks?"

"Can't. I'm busy." Peter told her.

"Oh okay, some other time then." Sarah nodded her head and placed her skateboard back on the floor. At that moment Ben walked down the path and spotted her.

"Ah Sarah, you coming in for lunch?" He asked, sending a smile her way.

"No, I was just leaving." Ben took notice of the fleeting glance back up to Peter who didn't pay her notice. "Thanks anyway."

Ben then watched with a sad look, as Sarah rode her skateboard away.

* * *

"Did you humiliate that boy?" Ben asked Peter the simple question.

"Yeah I did but this guy deserved it." Peter tried to defend his actions but Ben was having none of it.

"Did he?"

"Yeah."

"Is he the kid that hit Sarah?" Ben already guessed the answer but asked anyway. "Is he?"

"Yeah but-"

"So all this was about getting even?" Ben cut him to stop his attempts at justifying his actions. "If so, I guess you must feel pretty good about yourself now right?... Am I right or wrong?" Peter merely nodded his head. "Yeah I thought so. Well thanks to this little escapade of yours I had to change shifts at work so you have to pick up Aunt May tonight at 9 o'clock, understood?... Is that understood?" Peter once more nodded his head. "Ok, good."

At this point Ben noticed Sarah had approached the two and was stood behind Peter, trying to look like she wasn't listening to the conversation.

"Does she know you've got her on your computer?" Ben asked quietly to Peter. The teenager quickly turned round to see Sarah stood behind him. Quick as a whip he turned his head back around to Ben, subtle shaking his head. It was a plea not to say anything which in fact made Ben determined to say more. He lent to the right so he could see round Peter and looked at Sarah. "You're his background you know, on his computer, nice big picture of you."

Sarah could feel herself blushing as she looked to the floor, looked anywhere but Peter.

"Don't forget Aunt May." Ben hit Peter on the arm before walking off.

"Ok." Peter shouted after him before turning round to Sarah, giving off a small laugh."I don't actually have you as my background." Peter stumbled over his words as Sarah stepped towards him. "I mean I do but it's with me... it's a picture of the both of us..."

"Did you get expelled?" Sarah cut him off, though she would love to hear more about how she was his computer background, there was a more pressing issue in her mind.

"No, I didn't get expelled. I got community service." Peter answered her.

"Good." Sarah gave him a small smile before turning to leave.

"I'm sorry about Saturday." Peter acknowledged causing Sarah to turn her body back to face him. "I shouldn't have wondered off...and I'm sorry for yesterday, I was rude for blowing you off like that."

"You're forgiven." Sarah told him with a bigger smile this time which Peter returned.

"If you want...we could...you know...go to that place you like...the...urm...hot dog stand." Peter's hand came up to scratch his ear, something he did when nervous.

"Yeah I'd like that." Sarah stated, scuffing her converse along the floor, looking at her feet and then at Peter.

"I can't tonight but how does tomorrow sound?" Peter asked.

"Sounds like a date." A pause happened before Sarah realised what she had said. Her eyes widened dramatically before she became the stumbling mess. "I didn't...I didn't mean it like that...urm...what I meant was...it sounds like a good date...as in the day and month kind of date."

"I know what you meant." Peter put her out of her misery, smiling lightly and finding her stumbling funny.

"Ok, good." Sarah nodded her head. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Sarah smiled one last time at Peter before she headed to class. She turned back around to see Peter walk away with a little leap in his step.

* * *

Sarah was walking back from a tutoring session when she saw a familiar face walking the street.

"Hi May."

"Oh Sarah, you frightened me." May turned to see the familiar girl walking next to her.

"Thought Peter was picking you up?" Sarah asked after having heard the conversation between Peter and Ben earlier. She looked at her watch and saw it was half nine. From where May had been, which Sarah knew where it was, it meant she had waited 20 minutes for Peter before walking here.

"He must have forgotten." May shrugged.

"Well that won't do." Sarah sighed, continuing to walk with May.

"Dear I thought you lived the other way?"

"I do but you don't."

"Sarah really I'm a grown woman-"

"May please, it's the least I can do after all you've done for me."

May sighed but relented.

So Sarah walked the 12 blocks with May, got on the subway with her and then proceeded to walk May all the way home. This of course shocked Ben when he found his wife returning with Sarah instead of Peter.

"Ben-"

"That boy has some apologising to do." Was all Ben said before he sat himself on the porch and waited for Peter to come home.

Sarah headed for the door.

"I better get going." She stepped out onto the porch but was ushered back in by Ben.

"Oh no, I will take you home myself but Peter has to apologise to you too." Ben then returned to sitting on the chair on the porch.

Sarah did not want to argue with Ben when he was in this bad a mood, worse than she had ever seen. So she slunk back into the room where Aunt May paced, and stood in the corner.

"Didn't you forget something?" The loud voice of Ben stopped May from pacing. She looked at Sarah before looking back at the door. "Don't answer that, but I'm glad to know it's working. You owe your Aunt and Sarah an apology, big time!"

"Sarah?" The voice of Peter could be heard.

"Yeah Sarah, the person who ended up walking your Aunt home tonight." Ben informed Peter. "Now be a man, get in there and apologize."

The pair in the house heard the door open and watched as Peter and Ben entered the room. Peter spared a quick glance at Sarah before looking at his Aunt.

"I'm sorry Aunt May, I got...

"Honestly, you don't have to apologize to me." May told Peter.

"Hell he doesn't." Ben disagreed.

"Ben-"

"I'm sorry uncle Ben, I got distracted-" Peter tried to explain why he had forgotten but Ben wasn't listening.

"You got distracted? Your Aunt and a 17 year old girl had to walk 12 blocks in the middle of the night and then wait in a deserted subway station because you got distracted."

"Ben sweetheart, honestly, I am completely capable of walking home-" May started.

"Ben I can defend myself-" Sarah started as well at the same time.

"You will not defend this boy!" Ben told the two. He then turned his attention back to Peter who had taken to leaning on the wall. "Listen to me son, you're a lot like your father. You really are Peter, and that's a good thing. But your father lived by a philosophy, a principle really. He believed that if you could do good things for other people you had a moral obligation to do those things. That's what's at stake here, not choice, responsibility."

"That is nice, that's great." Peter muttered but loud enough for them all to hear. "It's all well and good, so where is he?"

"What?"

"Where is he?" Peter asked again, tears in his eyes. "Where's my dad? He didn't think it was his responsibility to be here and tell me this himself?"

"Oh come on, how dare you?"

"How dare I? How dare you?!" Peter shouted back.

A silence followed before Peter proceeded to leave the house.

"Where are you going?" Ben called after him. "Peter, come back here, please!"

Sarah didn't follow, she remained where she was and from there she heard the sound of glass smashing.

"Ben leave him alone for a little while, he'll be alright." Sarah heard May say but Ben believed in facing your problems head on.

"Peter?!" Sarah heard Ben call, each time it became more distant.

May walked back in the room, surprised to still find Sarah there.

"You can go now Sarah; your parents must be worried sick." May told her as she sat down.

"They're out of town on a last minute business trip." Sarah shrugged as she made her way to the kitchen. "Now do you want a cup of tea or something a little stronger?"

May looked at the girl who had a small smile on her face and though May returned it, she didn't feel it.

The time passed and the pair became more worried but they never expected the sirens to come.

They never expected for the police to tell them there had been a shooting.

They never expected for Uncle Ben to be the victim.

"Witnesses gave a description to the sketch artist, I need you to take a look." The police officer held the piece of paper in front of May. Sarah stood to the side watching Peter stood opposite. He had yet to say a word.

"No, I don't know him." May answered.

Sarah wiped her eyes, more tears already forming in them.

"I didn't expect you would ma'am. Homicide detectives are on it, we'll see what they turn up." The officer then picked up his stuff and left but not before Peter asked for the picture.

Once alone, May burst into another set of tears and Sarah stepped forward. She wrapped the woman in a hug, shedding fresh tears herself.


	3. Sweets

"_Why do I have to go?" Sarah tugged on her black dress as her mother led her by the hand through the graveyard._

"_Because we have to and the nanny is unavailable today." Her mother snapped back. Sarah took the hint and remained silent as the she walked with her parents._

_So they joined a gathering of people surrounding two holes in the ground. Sarah didn't really pay attention during the service, she didn't really want to think about death and besides she didn't even know the people who had died. Instead Sarah watched the little boy, the boy she recognised from school, stare at the ground. _

_He never looked away from that spot between the two graves, he merely stared at it with no emotion. He stood in between two adults, one always placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. The other, the woman, held his hand. The two, unlike the boy, wore their hearts on their sleeves. The woman was clearly crying while the man was more subtle but was crying all the same._

_The service came to an end and Sarah found herself being dragged back into the car and then dragged back out again after a short drive. She followed her parents as they walked into a quaint little house where other mourners had started to gather._

_Sarah felt like a an ant in a field on grass, everyone was taller than her and there wasn't another child in sight. Her parents made their way to the mourning family, Sarah spotted the young boy sat in the corner beside them, no one seemed to notice him._

"_We're sorry for your loss." Sarah's mum said as she shook the two strangers' hands. "We knew both of them from work."_

_Sarah didn't listen any further as she took her mother's distraction as a chance to escape. She slipped her hand from her mother's grasp and decided it was time someone addressed the boy._

_Sarah sat on the floor next to him. An awkward silence followed as Sarah struggled to find the courage to say something. She began to twiddle her thumbs and looked around the room. She shuffled a little and upon hearing the sound of plastic did she remember what she had in her pocket. She quickly retrieved a small sweet and held her hand out in front of the boy._

_He looked at her then back to the hand before deciding to take the sweet. Sarah joined him by getting another sweet for herself and the two sat in silence once more, both sucking on their individual sweet. _

_Not a word past between them but on Monday morning when she was back at school Sarah saw the boy sitting by himself, eating his lunch all alone. She was surprised, he usually had another boy sit with him. That's when a thought occurred to her._

_Sarah went straight for his table and sat down opposite him. The boy looked confused for a moment before realisation came upon seeing Sarah extend her hand with a sweet inside it._

"_I'm Sarah Frame." She said as he took the sweet from her._

"_Peter Parker." The boy gave her a small smile which she reciprocated._

* * *

Sarah walked through the halls, keeping her head down. She clutched her books to her chest, just counting down the time until she could go home. She really didn't want to be in school while thoughts of Ben circled her mind.

As she walked silence hit her, silence in a school corridor. She looked up to see Peter had Flash pinned against his locker with a small crowd watching.

"Your uncle died." Flash stated. "I'm sorry. I get it, I'm sorry."

Peter didn't want to say anything and simply dropped Flash. Hiding his face, he picked up his bag; closed his locker and walked away. Sarah followed him as he made his way outside to a secluded spot where the rest of the students wouldn't be able to see him.

She slowly approached him and sat down next to him, neither said a word. Sarah held out her hand with a sweet in it which Peter took. She saw he was crying again but she didn't say anything, instead she just sat with him in silence. She didn't move when the bell went, she didn't try and make conversation. She just sat there and was somebody there so Peter knew he wasn't alone.

* * *

"Hi Peter, just me again." Sarah said to the answer machine, leaving her 3rd voicemail in as many days. She had tried to see Peter at school but he merely kept his head down and disappeared often, being on a free track as well meant she saw less of him than she liked. "I'm calling to make sure you're okay and ask how May is holding up. My phones always on Peter, just give me a call when you're ready."

Sarah hung up the phone and ended up staring at it for a moment.

"Sarah have you seen your father's reading glasses?" Her mother asked as she swept into Sarah's bedroom.

The woman was stood as if a metal pole was stuck on her back. Her light brown hair, similar colour to Sarah's, was pulled back into a neatly wrapped bun sitting on the top of her head. Though Sarah was taller than her mother naturally, her mother always wore a pair of small, smart black heels that made her 5ft 10 and just taller than Sarah. As usually she was clad in her black business suit which was always covered by a lab coat when at work. Unlike Sarah, her mother preferred to wear glasses and chose a slim black pair that suited her sharp cheekbones.

Sarah on the other hand was sat in her usual wear, skinny jeans; a t-shirt and a slim fitted hoodie. Her hair was pulled back into its regular pony tail and her eyes appearing to have perfect vision, the contact lenses invisible to all.

"Last I saw they were on the dinner table." Sarah answered as she swirled her chair to point at her mother and away from her desk, her hand putting the phone down.

Her mother paused for a moment, looking as if she were going to the leave the room but hesitated.

"Your father and I are sorry to hear about your friend's uncle. We understand you were close to the gentleman." Her mother placed her hands in front of her, addressing Sarah as if she were a work colleague.

"I was." Sarah fought hard against the burning sensation in her throat, as if something was stuck and the pressure was mounting.

"It is unfortunate the timing with regards to our trip." The trip she spoke about was her parent's going to a chemical weapons conference in Switzerland for 2 weeks.

"You weren't to know." Sarah shrugged. "You've been planning this trip for a while now."

"Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself?"

"How many times have you left me alone in the past?" Sarah reminded her. "Besides I can't imagine anything really exciting or life changing happening to me in the next 2 weeks or to New York in general."

"You make a valid point." Her mother conceded. "There's money in the kitchen for you for grocery shopping and you have your card if there's an emergency. I've notified the Johnsons below us so they are most likely to come and check in on you."

"Thanks mom." Sarah gave her a small smile before swinging her chair back round.

"Oh and one other thing." Sarah once again turned to face her mother. "Have an extension on the paper you need to write about your father's experiment two weeks ago, for your internship. Instead of this weekend being the deadline, make it for when we get back."

"You're too kind."

"Well it is only suitable due to the circumstances and feelings you must be going through at the moment." Her mother was oblivious to Sarah's sarcasm. Her mother then gave an awkward nod to Sarah before leaving the room.

"Love you too." Sarah whispered under her breath, turning back round to her computer to watch a video about a vigilante.

* * *

When Peter closed his locker he wasn't surprised to find Sarah stood behind the door waiting for him.

"Hi Sarah." Peter said, picking up his bag.

"Good afternoon Mr Parker." Sarah smiled at him, walking with him down the corridor. "So you seem to be feeling better."

"I've found a new hobby." Peter responded.

"Well still, you need to just relax a little." Sarah told him. They came to a halt where the corridor split in two, Peter knowing this was where they branched off to their separate classes. "We haven't been to that pizzeria you like for a while."

"Sarah – "

"Oh come on Pete, I'll take up...what? Less than two hours of your time?" Sarah looked at him with a hopeful puppy dog look. Peter smiled while looking away before turning his head to look at her again but with a tilt. "I'll even pay for the meal, no halfies, I'll take the full bill."

"You can't-" Peter shook his head but Sarah jumped in.

"I can and I will."

Peter looked around the corridor once more and then with a sigh he relented.

"Fine."

"8 o'clock." Sarah informed him, a whole lot happier now she had got him to agree.

Peter nodded his head in agreement, 8 o'clock still gave him plenty of time before and probably after to try out his new suit and hopefully find a certain carjacker.

"Good." Sarah said with a smile. She walked away but not without calling over her shoulder, "Don't be late."

* * *

"Ah Sarah, my favourite customer." Antonio held his arms wide open as he approached the table.

The restaurant was dark and a little dingy but Sarah and Peter loved it. The food was great; the staff were friendly and it was low prices. Sarah was sat alone in one of the little booths, a small candle flickering in the middle. The table was covered in the classic red and white pattern of Italian cafes and a small fake flower was the centre piece.

"Hi Antonio." Sarah smiled at the middle aged man who had had a few too many beers in life.

"Long time no see heh?" The Italian splayed his hands out across his belly, leaning back on her heels as he stood next to the table.

"Just been busy with school and work." Sarah shrugged as her way of apology.

"Well you're here now, no?"

"I am." Sarah couldn't help but smile for Antonio just had that kind of personality, if he was happy then you were happy too.

"Ah but where is Mr Peter?"

_That is a good question _Sarah thought.

"He should be along any minute." Sarah said out loud.

"Well okay, you just call me over when you want to order."

Sarah nodded and watched as Antonio went on to his next customer, who also happened to be his favourite she heard.

Sarah looked at her phone and saw the time to be 8:15, maybe Peter was just running a little late.

By the time the clock turned to 8:30, she decided to give him a call. It went straight through to voicemail.

The clock hit 9:00 and Sarah started to panic. Voicemail again.

10:00 came and by this point Antonio's more shady customers were starting to make an appearance. Unsurprisingly, she went to voicemail.

Sarah knew she should have probably left by now but she kept thinking any moment he would walk through that door and it would all be alright. Every time the door opened she expected it to be Peter but it never was.

Antonio kept popping over, making small talk but he knew, as did all the staff, Sarah had been stood up. At one point he offered to get her a drink on the house but she didn't take it, not wanting to do anything in case Peter came in.

Sarah could feel the pity looks she was getting and decided to call it a night at half ten, leaving one last voicemail for Peter. By the time she got home, anger and embarrassment were at the fore front of her mind. Heartbreak and sadness were there also but if she thought about them, she knew she would cry so instead she focused on her anger.

It was 11 o'clock when she finally got home and it was then she decided to call May.

"Hello." A little thought made her think maybe Peter was in trouble. He had never stood her up before and maybe she should be more focused about his safety than being angry at him.

"Hi May, it's Sarah." The 17 year old said. "I was wondering if Peter was home."

"He's just walked in the door." May told her. "Do you want to speak to him?"

"No." Sarah felt like she had been punched in the stomach. No, Peter had stood her up and it tore her into pieces. "Thanks May, goodnight."

Sarah felt rude suddenly hanging up on May but she really didn't want to have the woman hear if she burst into tears which she was threatening to do.

On the other end of the line Peter had paused in his journey up to his room.

"Who was that?" He asked, refusing to turn round and make his Aunt look at the bruises on his face.

"It was Sarah, is everything alright between the two of you?"

Peter didn't answer, instead he rushed up to his room and turned his phone on. Four voicemails were waiting for him.

_Hi Pete, just me. Was wondering where you are as sat here at Antonio's waiting for you. Give me a call back when you get this._

_Hi Pete, me again. Give me a call when you get this_

_Hey Peter, call me._

_I've left Antonio's so if you do decide to turn up I won't be there. See you at school_

* * *

Sarah sat watching the news, reporting about the masked vigilante when she heard her phone go off. She looked at it to see the familiar face of Peter light up on her screen.

"Oh so your phone is working." Sarah whispered to herself.

For a moment an internal debate raged inside her before one side won.

Reaching for the tub of ice cream she got early, Sarah tucked in and changed the channel to some pointless soap where she didn't have to think, just watch.

The phone on the coffee table continued to vibrate but soon stopped.


	4. Benny's

**So to the two people who asked me questions:**

**1) I was conscious my OC was too much like Gwen so I wanted to avoid having her in the story too much, I mean apart from being Peter's love interest in the film the two weren't friends beforehand so would have no reason to talk now. Gwen does come up later though.**

**2) For the review about the spoiler alert, in the words of Riversong : Spoilers. I'm not going to give you anything before I decide it's time.**

**Thanks you all for reviewing and reading and I hope you enjoy. Please remember though I am now starting exams and trying to get into university so updating may be spread out.**

**Vex**

* * *

Sarah wasn't surprised to find Peter stood by her locker.

She took a moment to look at him. His slender frame, which was gathering muscle she had noticed, was leaning against the wall of lockers. His hood was up and Sarah saw the wires for his headphones stretch under his hood. Though she was angry at him, she couldn't deny how good he looked in his jeans and jacket.

Sarah stepped around the corner and went straight for her locker. Upon seeing her Peter stood up straight and took his ear phones out.

"Sarah-"

"Don't want to hear it Peter." She said, opening up her locker door to block his face. "All you had to do was send a simple text to say you couldn't make it."

Sarah shut her locker after furiously stuffing her books into her bags and practically throwing her unwanted books in her locker. She turned from Peter and walked down the corridor, Peter was quick to follow.

"Look I'm sorry, you're right. I got held up." Peter easily kept the pace up with her and the two found themselves outside in one of the courtyards.

"Doing what?" Sarah spun on Peter and the two stopped walking.

"Just...something I had to do."

Sarah opened her mouth to say something else when she stopped herself. Peter looked confused and was taken by surprise when she pulled his hood down.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Sarah kept stepping side to side to see it better and Peter kept moving his head to hide it from her.

"It's a rash." Peter shrugged.

"Peter I know a bruise when I see one." Sarah lent back and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I fell when skating."

"I don't need to stand here and be lied at." Sarah turned to storm off but was pulled back by Peter's hand on her forearm.

"Sarah I can't...I mean..."Peter stumbled. He dropped his hand but Sarah didn't run off.

"Can't what Peter?"

Suddenly a group of lower class men entered the quad meaning Peter and Sarah were no longer alone. Sarah waited for Peter to answer but he merely looked at her, struggling to word what he wanted to say.

"Whatever." Sarah muttered, rolling her eyes and turning away.

Peter ran so he was facing her and blocked her path.

"I'm sorry about last night Sarah, let me make it up to...please." Peter held his two hands together in front of her as if he were praying.

Sarah wanted to say no. She wanted to tell Peter to get stuffed but she couldn't. She looked at him and she couldn't say no to him.

"Fine." She sighed but didn't smile like she usually did.

"Why don't you come round to mine tonight and I'll cook us something."

"You cook?"

"I can cook." Peter gave off a defensive laugh and Sarah did smirk a little.

"Come round to mine instead. My parents are away and your Aunt doesn't need me around being a nuisance." Peter nodded his head in agreement. "Plus I can make sure you actually cook the food yourself."

The bell for the next period rang in the distance.

"I'll be there at 7." Peter told her, a smile playing on his lips. Sarah went to open her mouth but Peter beat her to it. "And I won't be late."

"See you later Peter."

Sarah walked away, glimpsing back only once. What she saw made her stomach tingle and the blood rush to her cheeks. Peter hadn't moved from his spot but had watched her walk away with a small smile on his face.

* * *

Sarah looked in the mirror one last time just to make sure she was presentable. She always did when she knew Peter was coming over. She then went about cleaning the apartment even though it was spotless.

She sat back down at her desk in her room deciding to check her emails when she heard a knocking at her window.

Sarah turned to see Peter sat on her fire escape.

"How did you get up there?" Sarah asked, opening the window which Peter climbed through.

"Your fire escape."

"Why not use the front door?" Sarah found herself smiling despite how ridiculous the situation was.

"You know I don't like your doorman." Peter shrugged before pulling some flowers out of his rucksack. The majority were bent and askew making Peter's face fall when he saw them. "I did bring you these to say sorry."

"They're beautiful." Sarah teased, a smile tugging at her lips.

"They are aren't they?" Peter twirled the flowers in his hand smiling as well. Sarah plucked them from his hand and took them to the kitchen, Peter at her heels. "You don't...You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do." Sarah proceeded to place the flowers in a vase and water before putting the flowers in the middle of the kitchen unit.

She turned back around to look at Peter and the two stood there for a moment just looking at the other. Often breaking eye contact and looking to the floor with a small smile on their face, giving off a little laugh.

"So?" Sarah prompted. Peter raised his eyebrows. "Dinner?"

"Oh yeah...right well you go sit where we're eating and I'll bring it out to you." Peter instructed of her.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Sarah asked. "Do you need any food or...do you even know how to work my cooker?"

"I'm fine." Peter told her before giving her a little shove out of the room.

Sarah found herself smiling as she set up the outside balcony area for dinner. The grey brick wall at the end hid some of the city below but not enough to block its beauty, being the highest apartment in the building helped.

Sarah sat down, hoping Peter wasn't burning her home to the ground. She began to twiddle her thumbs, looking out to the last glimpses on the sun which was just about to set. Next she tapped her foot and wondered if Peter was okay.

"Peter?" She called as she stepped back into the building. No answer came from the kitchen.

She carried on walking calling Peter's name until walking into the kitchen to find a startled Peter hiding something behind his back.

"Why didn't you answer back?" Sarah asked.

"I was concentrating on the cooking." Peter nodded his head. Sarah looked around the room to see no food or cooking utensils lying about, the oven wasn't even on.

"Okay." Sarah said noticing there was one thing different; the window in her kitchen was open. She went to close it, wondering how she had left it open without realising. Maybe Peter had opened it she thought but _why would he do that? _She thought next. "Strange."

"What is?" Peter wondered.

"Did you open this window?" Sarah slammed the window shut before turning round to Peter.

"Nope, wasn't me." Peter shrugged. Sarah looked at him suspiciously then back to the window.

"Strange." Sarah muttered again as she walked out the room back to the balcony.

She sat waiting again but this time not for long. Peter came out outside and placed a plate in front of her and a plate on his mat. A hot dog and a pile of fries lay on each plate.

"You didn't cook this." Sarah told him straight away. Peter held a hand to his chest as he sat down.

"I did."

"These are from Benny's stand." Sarah told him. "I'd recognise them a mile off."

"Okay so I improvised but would you rather have Benny's or my cooking?" Peter raised his eyebrows at her, already knowing the answer. "Besides I said I would take you for one and I never did."

"Yeah but that wasn't your fault." The two went quiet for a moment, both thinking of Ben. Not wanting Peter to dwell too much, Sarah spoke up. "Come on before it gets cold."

So the two ate, chatting ideally about this, that and the other. More often than not they found themselves laughing and enjoying time in each other's company.

Once finished the pair found themselves leaning on the wall at the end of the balcony, overlooking the city below. They kept quiet for a while, every so often, when the other wasn't looking, they would seek glances at the other.

Sarah kept looking at the nasty bruises forming on Peter's face, the light bouncing off it highlighting the blues and blacks mixed with purples of all shades.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened to your face?" Sarah asked.

"I'm gonna tell you something." Peter said suddenly, angling his body so his side rested on the wall and he fully faced Sarah.

"I'm listening." Sarah told him, angling her body to reflect his.

"I've been bitten..." Peter started to say but didn't continue.

"By what?" Sarah prompted.

"Ok...I gotta tell you this one thing...have you heard about the vigilante?"

"The one that keeps assaulting civilians?" Sarah asked, wondering where Peter was going.

"Yeah...him...what? He's assaulting people?"

"Yeah he's beating people up." Sarah pointed out the obvious.

"I'm not sure it's assault, I mean, I saw that video with him and the car thief. I think most people would say that he was...providing a public service." Peter argued. "I mean, you want to join the army someday and you do all that karate self defence stuff. Surely you think what this guy's doing is right?"

"Right? Peter he breaks the law." Sarah reminded him.

"How so? And even if he does I'm sure he doesn't mean to." Peter defended.

Sarah looked at Peter, confused at how he knew so much.

"This guy isn't a hero." Sarah continued. "On the internet he's made out to be but when you look at who he's taking down they all look the same."

"He's protecting innocent people from bad guys." Peter explained refusing to look at Sarah.

"The guy's got a vendetta Peter. It's law and order which protect people from bad guys." Sarah declared. "Why are we even talking about this anyway?"

"It doesn't matter." Peter shrugged it off and turned his body out towards the city.

"Ok" Sarah sighed, turning her body out to face the city as well.

"Okay forget the vigilante, I'm not gonna talk about that, I'm gonna talk about me." Peter suddenly turned his body around to face her again.

"What about you?" Sarah turned her body once more.

"I wish I could just..." Peter made a weird hand gesture and Sarah sensed his frustration.

"Whatever it is just say it." Sarah told him.

"I can't, it's hard to say."

"What? You going to tell me you're the vigilante I just spent the past 5 minutes insulting?" Sarah joked but when Peter didn't laugh, she immediately sombre. He looked at her for a brief moment before averting his gaze again. Then it clicked. "You're...you're the vigilante...no...nooooo...I...I don't...I don't believe you."

Sarah walked away from him but suddenly felt something sticky on her leg. She looked down to see webbing coming from Peter's wrist to her upper thigh. Her mouth hung open as she looked back at Peter who gave her a little shrug. Sarah found herself spinning due to Peter retracting the web. She ended up in his arms.

"You're Spiderman." Sarah stated, Peter merely nodded at her. "And I've just insulted you."

"You did." One of Peter's hands lay on the small of her back while his other came up to hold her face, Sarah felt her heartbeat pick up.

"Sorry about that." She could feel herself blushing. Her face was mere inches from Peter's, she couldn't help but let her eyes keep flicking to his lips.

"It's okay." Peter whispered leaning in, a moment Sarah had been dreaming about for years but she pulled back.

Peter's face showed fear of rejection and Sarah wished she could have just kissed him...wait this was Peter Parker, her best friend. What was she doing? What was he doing? What about Gwen?

Sarah stepped away from Peter, remembering why she had pulled away in the first place.

"You're going after Ben's killer aren't you?"

"Sarah-"

"Yes or no?"

Peter paused for a moment, looking at her with an intense stare.

"Yes." He finally admitted.

"Oh Peter, don't you see?"

"See what?" Peter asked, frustrated and annoyed. He swung his body as he spoke, he lent forward against the wall.

"This was what Ben was talking about." Sarah stepped towards him and placed a hand on his arm. "You have the opportunity with these gifts you somehow...acquired-"

"From a spider bite."

"A spider bite?" Peter nodded his head, Sarah couldn't believe it. "Well you have the opportunity to use these gifts to help others. Though Ben talked of responsibility I don't think it's that simple. Right here, right now, you have a choice."

Peter turned back around to face her, Sarah didn't realise until then how close she had stood back next to him. On an impulse, she reached up and her hands traced over the fading bruises.

"Though I also want to say don't do anything, I don't like seeing you hurt." She went to remove her hand but Peter kept it there with his, holding it to his face.

Sarah found herself leaning in again, noticing how Peter's eyes kept flicking to her lips as well.

The sounds of sirens below broke the moment.

Sarah saw Peter's head almost snap to the sounds of the police cars. She stepped back and walked over to the table.

"Be careful Peter." She said without turning around, knowing by his reaction he had just made his choice.

She turned around a moment later to see he was gone.


End file.
